Cited by 3,461Attachment and Relationship DynamicsEmotions and Moral BehaviorResilience and Mental Health

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Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping

Lazarus, Richard S., Folkman, Susan·1987·European Journal of Personality

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Abstract

In this article we examine the fundamental premises of our cognitive‐relational theory of emotion and coping and assess our progress in examining them through 10 years of programmatic empirical research. Our discussion involves the metatheoretical topics of transaction and relationship, process, and emotion as a system. The person‐environment relationship is mediated by two key processess: cognitive appraisal and coping. We evaluate the findings of our research on these processes, their dynamic interplay, their antecedents, and their short‐term and long‐term outcomes. In the final section we highlight major substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed. These include issues surrounding the theory and measurement of appraisal, functional and dysfunctional coping, causal inference, microanalytic vs macroanalytic research strategies, objective vs subjective approaches and confounding, and the problem of method variance.

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“Based on the Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS); (52), Zurlo et al.”
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BackgroundInfluential
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Method
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Background
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Method
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BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
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Background
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Background
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Background
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BackgroundMethodInfluential
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“1986; Lazarus and Folkman 1987).”
BackgroundInfluential
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“Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC; Lazarus & Folkman 1987).”
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“Rather than actually addressing the problem at hand, emotion-focused strategies aim to simply quell the symptoms, namely, emotional distress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987).”
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“Negative appraisals, in turn, lead to negative emotional responses (Brashers, 2001; Lazarus & Folkman, 1987; Smith & Lazarus, 1993).”
Background
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Kim, S., Wong, A. K. F., Han, H., & Yeung, M. W. (. (2021) · Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research · doi:10.1080/10941665.2021.1998158 · Cited by 25
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“According to the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping proposed by Lazarus and Folkman [42], stress arises when individuals perceive a situation as exceeding their resources to cope.”
BackgroundMethod
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“Productive Coping It has been emphasized by several researchers that adolescents most frequently use a productive coping style to deal with varying online risks [20,24,32,44–47].”
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“This relationship is better examined by transactional stress theory which asserts that stress is merely an exchange between a person and their context.(32) It can cause damage to a person by threatening their well-being.”
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“Lazarus and Folkman coined the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping in which there is an appraisal of the stressor and a coping response.(11) This coping response to managing stress can take many forms including both cognitive and behavioral strategies.”
Background
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“…of socio-cognitive theory, we aimed to unlock the full potential of the ITI based on the model of achievement motivation (Dweck, 1986; Dweck & Leggett, 1988) by linking it to the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987), specifically in the context of academic failure.”
Background
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“A number of actions mentionedwere also in linewith emotion-focused coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987) such as ‘remaining calm’ (P44) and ‘put the problem inperspective (place it in a broader context)’ (P119).”
BackgroundMethod
The Cambridge Handbook of the International Psychology of Women
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“The transactional model of stress considers coping as a process that varies according to the demands of a given situation [25], giving more importance to how an individual reacts to a particular stressor than to other dispositional variables [26].”
Background
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“According to Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987), the primary appraisals of stress are concerned with the harm, threat, and challenge from environmental conditions; the secondary appraisals assess resources and coping strategies, which are…”
BackgroundMethod
The essential impact of stress appraisals on work engagement
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Authors: Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S.
Affiliations: University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author: Lazarus, Richard S.
Venue: European Journal of Personality
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 1987-09
Volume: 1
Issue: 3
Pages: 141-169
ISSN: 0890-2070 (ISSN-L)
1099-0984
DOI: 10.1002/per.2410010304
OpenAlex: W2106232823
Semantic Scholar: 61c4bdaca0b53fc1a9736b946f6a3f5ddd1759b2
Cited by: 3,053
References: 91
Citations by year: 2026: 264 · 2025: 276 · 2024: 215 · 2023: 246 · 2022: 236 · 2021: 273 · 2020: 247 · 2019: 163 · 2018: 137 · 2017: 116 · 2016: 104 · 2015: 81 · 2014: 95 · 2013: 73 · 2012: 68
FWCI: 15.44
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: European Journal of Personality (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
Keywords: transactional theory, emotions, coping, cognitive appraisal, person-environment relationship, causal inference, confounding, method variance, emotion measurement

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